I am considering moving from the MX500 to a Harmony One. I got the MX500 free with a Monster Power HTS5100 a couple of years ago, and it does everything my wife and I want, which is:

- watch the TV or a recording through the Cable HD/DVR box to the Main :Zone of a Denon receiver, to the TV by
--- Picking up the Cable Remote [Main | Cable Softkey]
--- Turning on the TV Power [Power]
--- Turning on the Receiver Main zone to the TV [On Softkey and TV Softkey]
--- (To turn this off, I hit Power, an the Off Softkey)

- watch TV or recording through same kind of cable HD/DVR box in bedroom:
--- pick up master bedroom remote [Main | MBRTV softkey]
--- Power on/off for the TV

- same as above for Family room TV/DVR but with FAMTV softkey

- I use Zone 2 for the Denon to the pool area, with POOL as the device
- Zone 3 in office (OFFIC) just the same.

- other devices I have: TV, just in case I need to go into its menus, which is NEVER; DVD - this needs to get the Denon on and to DVD mode: two softkeys; SOUND - in case I need to do things with the Denon - again, rarely.

I am pretty happy with this. Teaching wife to "Pick up the xxxx remote" made everything simple. Since the Cable box needs to be on all the time, I have no power requirements, although all 3 devices have a BXPWR softkey to toggle the appropriate cable box/DVR.

I rarely need to change which device I have "picked up". The key was discrete softkeys to turn the Denon on/off for the proper zone.

I usually control Zone 3 Denon functions with this XP Box and a HyperTerm session, since I am on the computer when I listen to XM/Net-USB/Phono from the Denon. (Definitely not wife friendly, nor will any remote solve this anyway!)

I don't use macros because of power on/off issues with the TVs. None of my 3 less-than-3-month-old HD TVs seem to have discrete on/off buttons on the remote. I would have to have one to turn main zone on, and another to turn it off. Seems a waste.

So, my reasons for switching are: Single press to start an activity, and it does look cool! I would have the three TVs as the first 3 activities, I rarely take the 500 outside, I use the Denon's other remote for that, and Leapfrog extenders.

Sorry for the long winded post, but I am really on the fence about this.

My concerns are:
- how do I stop an activity? It has to use discrete on the Denon, turn the TV Off, but leave the cable box on (I suppose it doesn't get into the macro at all?)
- can I switch to an activity in the main zone: (TV-DVD-XM-Phono, etc) with it leaving the TV on unless I go to Phono?
- can I activate Zone 2 without it turning off anything from zone 1?
- since I may use other methods than the One to activate a zone, how can the One possibly remember current settings? (It would seem I am committed to using the One for everything Activity related. This prevents me from watching in the Main room and wife using other remote in other area, and then trying to use the One in that other area. This to me is a big downer.)

Perhaps with that last concern, I am no longer on the fence, and will put my credit card away